A month ago he said goodbye to his viewers on “60 Minutes”. Still a strong mind at 92, Andy Rooney didn’t really seem ready to go. He ended his broadcast saying he had been blessed with the best job anyone could ever have– getting paid just for saying what was on his mind.

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What a great job that must have been indeed, though it could not have been as easy as Andy made it seem. Saying what you think without minimizing someone is harder than it looks, but Andy always seemed to talk about a subject without name calling or innuendo.

I once observed a colleague of mine publicly ridicule her student for saying he liked animals better than people. That same week on TV Andy leaned beside his bulldog and said, “dogs are nicer than people.” I don’t know if he got any heat for saying that or not, but I really admire that he said it in front of millions of people.

Maybe it was his age in part that allowed him to be so blunt, but he also enjoyed the support of a national audience. Thank you, CBS.

It is a tendency that writers perhaps spend too much time alone in thought, and they often lack the desire to spend their time in idle social chat. Andy kind of seemed that way to me. He even openly admitted that people sometimes annoyed him. He said he had spent the first 50 years of his life trying to become known and every year since then just wishing people would leave him alone to eat his supper.

I can’t help but like the honesty of that. In a world where made-up facts and down-right lies seem increasing to be the norm, I’m going to miss the candor of Andy Rooney.

He passed away two days ago. Thank you, Andy Rooney, for sharing your thoughts with me.

One Response to A Viewer Remembers Andy Rooney

g, this was a very nice tribute. i, too, liked andy rooney’s way of saying what was on his mind. i will miss his commentary and his gentle voice that said no so gentle things. he was certainly one of a kind.